Russia uses newly developed hypersonic missiles against Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir confirmed that "Zircon" hypersonic missiles had already been used "in combat." 

Ukraine previously claimed that the Russian army used these missiles for massive strikes on February 7, Rubryka reports.

Putin also said during his address to the Federal Assembly, quoted by the propaganda outlet "RIA Novosti," that Russia was completing the testing of the long-range cruise missile "Burevestnik" and the unmanned underwater vehicle "Poseidon."

Putin mentioned that Russian troops had already received the Sarmat ballistic missile system.

"We will demonstrate it soon," he added.

Background on the Zircon missile

Russians stated at the end of January that they had not yet armed this type of missile. The director-general of the Russian enterprise, the developer of "Zircon," stated that the missile "still needs some time to be put into operation." Development has been ongoing since 2011, with flight tests of the ammunition conducted since 2015.

According to the BBC, Russian military observers call "Zircon" an "aircraft carrier killer," which traditionally "has no analogs" in the world. Most characteristics of "Zircon" are not disclosed in Russia. However, Russians claimed that it was a hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile.

It supposedly has the following characteristics:

• Range: 600-1,500 km
• Speed can reach 8-9 times the speed of sound
• The mass of the warhead is about 300-400 kg

On February 7, Russian occupation forces launched cruise missiles of various types and strike drones at Ukraine.  Explosions rocked the capital, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv.

About 20 missiles were shot down during the Russian missile attack on Ukraine near and above Kyiv.

Overall, Russian occupation forces launched a massive strike on Ukraine with 64 missiles of various types and strike drones. Ukrainian air defense forces managed to destroy 44 targets.

Later, experts from the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise (KNIFE) stated that Russia had used "Zircon" against Ukraine for the first time.

However, according to The New York Times, the United States has not yet confirmed that Russia could have used the "Zircon" missile during the strike on Kyiv on February 7.

Nevertheless, British intelligence warned of possible problems for Ukrainian air defense due to the "Zircon" missiles.